


written in reverse

by sarih93



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-07-18 22:52:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7333930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarih93/pseuds/sarih93
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hope and Kelley's friends and teammates have been right there besides them through every step in their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 2016

Natasha is more than used to the restlessness that comes with having to play anything less that a full 90 minutes. All that pent up energy allows her to bounce from teammates and rivals alike and talk to every single one of them. While the blank scoreboard is more than a little disappointing Tasha is just glad she got to play after weeks on the sidelines. This time around she's truly appreciating every single moment soccer is a part of her life.

She's just finished talking to Keelin and turns to look for Hope. She locates her at the same time Kelley approaches the goalkeeper so Natasha hangs back to watch as Hope and Kelley fuse in a hug. Watching them makes her feel like she's intruding in a private moment and yet she can't look away. It does make sense that after all the years playing together they're close but she didn't think they were this close. The hug seems to be going on for too long and Hope mush be thinking the same thing because she takes a step back. Kelley however takes a step forward to maintain their connection. It seems like she whispers something on Hope's ear before finally letting go. Natasha feels her eyebrows raise but she tries to not jump into conclusions. After all she has been accused of seeing things before, the sapphic sort, but that looked like the sort of embrace only lover share.

As Kelley makes her way to the stands for autographs and pictures with fans Natasha walks over to Hope.

"Too bad O'Hara was offside," she calls out teasingly.

"I know," Hope chuckles and shakes her head. Natasha tilts her head; the Hope she used to know was never this ok with being scored on, even if the goal was invalid.

"She's really good," Natasha points out in an effort to stay on the topic.

"She is, no matter what position she's asked to play at. That's why I like it better when she's on my team."  One of Harvey's assistant comes to talk to Hope and Tasha gets them to take a picture of her and Hope. The interruption makes Natasha go interact with the fans and for a moment she forgets all about Hope and Kelley.

After fifteen minutes of taking selfies with fans Grubka tells her that a few of them are going to a bar to keep celebrating Pride Night and Natasha goes to tell Christie about her change of plans. Christie is waiting for her kids, who are still on the pitch talking and playing around with Hope. Natasha figures out there's no harm in asking a question or two.

"Yes, they've been close since London."  

"But how close?" Natasha draws out.

"Pretty close I guess," Christie answers. Natasha wonders if she understood what she was really asking but Christie continues. "Hope really helped Kelley transition to a defender and they bonded through the Olympics."

A perfectly reasonable explanation for the touchiness, much to Natasha's dismay. Maybe she really wanted for something more to be going on.

"I guess they just seem so different," she wonders out loud.

"They're really not as different as people think,” Christie answers cryptically and she gives Natasha a hug.  “I need to go get my girls if I ever want to leave. Have fun at the bar but don't forget about practice," Christie says pointedly and Natasha just grins sheepishly. That was just one time.

The Sky Blue crew gathers around to figure out how they’re getting to the bar when Natasha realizes they’re missing someone.

“Where’s KO?”

“She decided to skip out,” Rocky answers and she exchanges a _look_ with Sam.

“There’s no way I’m coming home tonight,” the Aussie says with a smirk.

“Why?”

“Because Hope is here and I don’t want to hear the reunion?” Kerr looks at Natasha like what she’s saying is obvious.

Well damn, looks like this time she was right to jump to conclusions.

"Wait, why did no one told me this before?"

"We figured you knew," Rocky shrugs. Everyone walks over to the parking lot, leaving a dumbfounded Kai behind.

Apparently a lot of shit has gone down since 2008. But Natasha digs it.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *         

Kelley sighs happily and cuddles closer to Hope. She's very tired, both from the game and their reunion afterwards, but she doesn't want to go to sleep just yet. Every minute with her girlfriend is precious.

"I'm so glad Harvey is ok with you staying with me tonight."

Hope chuckles and distractedly runs the hand that's behind Kelley up and down her back.

"You want to thank Laura because you got laid? Shouldn't you be thanking me?"

"But I already did. Twice," Kelley boasts.

Hope chuckles again and Kelley smiles to herself.

"When do you think your roommates are coming home?"

Kelley shrugs disinterested. "I'm not sure but they know I wanted the house for myself at least for a little while."

Hope had been reluctant when she called last week and asked if Hope could spend the night after their game with her. Hope had argued that it could be awkward because of her roommates but Kelley was adamant. She wanted to at least once go to sleep in her own bed with her girlfriend.

"My frat daddies can be pretty discreet," Kelley adds, completely aware of Hope's distaste for that term.

"I refuse to call you that."

"That's because you're no fun."

Hope snorts. "That's not what you were saying before. Also I saw Finding Dory before you did," she teases Kelley who takes the opportunity for more banter.

 Kelley sits up so that she can be face to face with Hope. "I'm glad you brought that up! I can't believe you went without me," she accuses teasingly. “I really wanted to go see that.”

"It was supposed to be a bonding activity, not that it worked."

Kelley knows that Hope was frustrated with the way the Reign was playing this season. And while she can relate to that she also knows Hope was putting all the blame on herself, no matter how often Kelley tells her that’s absurd.  

"Come on, you know you guys had a good game. So did we, but sometimes it's just not meant to be. And there was nothing you could've done to block my shot. I'm just that good babe."

Hope can just shake her head in disbelief at Kelley’s ego but even with the dimmed lights Kelley knows she’s fighting a smile.

“And yet you’ve never been able so score on me. On the field,” Hope clarifies before Kelley can make a dirty joke.

Instead of answering Kelley shifts to straddle Hope. With a lapful of naked Kelley all thoughts of banter vanish from Hope's mind. Kissing every inch of skin she can reach from her neck down is her priority.

“You know...” Kelley mumbles against Hope’s lips.

Hope stops kissing Kelley to give her a _look_ , trying to tell her that the time for talking is over. But Hope knows what Kelley is doing, teasing her and trying to get the last word in. Hope would mind it a lot more if she wasn't always so focused on getting back on track.

 “…I wasn't offside.”

Hope just kisses her again and grabs Kelley's butt, trying to pull her even closer.

Yes, she was offside. But none of that matters right now. She has approximately ten more hours with Kelley and she’s planning on putting them to good use.


	2. 2012

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're going back to the beginning

All the rooms in their floor in the Olympic Villa have the exact same layout. At least that’s what Christen thought.

"What happened here?"

There should be two beds separated by a bedside table. But someone moved the table and pushed the two beds together.

"A bonding session," Kelley answers as she jumps into the giant bed.

Christen takes a minute to think about it because she knows Kelley and she's not sure what she meant by bonding.

Kelley tries to maintain an innocent face but a smile breaks through. “Hope and I built a fort,” she explains, chuckling at Christen’s expense.

"You built a fort? With Hope Solo?" Christen repeats because the more she knows the less she understands.

"Do we know any other Hope?" Kelley asks rhetorically. “Obviously I was the mastermind but she did most of the heavy lifting.”

From the moment she joined her first camp Christen realized that Hope Solo in person was very different from the Hope Solo she saw on TV. She’s still intimidatingly beautiful for sure; but less unapproachable badass instead calm and gentle badass. Still she doesn’t picture Hope Solo building a fort with Kelley. And she can’t help but voice her opinion.

“Well yeah, at first she was like ‘this is silly Kelley’ but eventually she realized it was an awesome idea.” Kelley’s imitation of Hope’s voice is a complete failure but it makes Christen laugh, taking her mind off their conversation and that little suspicion forming inside her head.

Instead they get to the point of Christen’s visit: having a Glee marathon and eating snacks (healthy enough for Dawn while still yummy).

The first episode is on its final musical number when Hope walks in.

“Hey, I just need to get something quick.” Hope makes a beeline for the bedside table.

“Oh you don’t have to leave. You can join us; we’re having a Glee marathon.” Kelley pats the empty space on her right.

“No thanks, Carli is waiting for me to go get coffee.” Hope holds out her wallet to prove her point. 

"Come on! You always get coffee with Carli but how many times have you watched Glee?"

"Like one too many."

Kelley gasps, selling out her offended act hard. Christen feels like she’s intruding and almost suggests that she can go with Carli in Hope’s place.

"Would you leave me alone if I bring you back something?" Hope tries to appease Kelley.

Kelley nods effusively.

"Ok," Hope is about to leave when she seems to finally remember Christen is there too. "Press do you want something?"

"No, that's okay," Christen answers as her mind is still trying to process what she just witnessed.

Hope leaves and Christen turns to look at Kelley. Only to be met with Kelley's butt since she's crouched down rummaging through her bag.

"Kelley what are you up to?"

"Looking for a hair tie, I think Alex stole all of them already. Baby Horse mane is pretty high maintenance." Kelley laughs loudly at her own joke but Christen won’t be dissuaded.  She pulls on Kelley's top to make her face her.

"I mean what are you up to with Hope?"

“I’m not up to anything,” Kelley defends herself passionately. “I just like being around her and I know that she enjoys doing silly stuff like building forts. She thinks the weight of the team is in her shoulders, and it doesn’t help that she’s constantly being attacked by people like Brandi Chastain. Sometimes even Hope Solo needs to take her mind off soccer.”  

Kelley doesn’t raise her voice but still Christen hears the message loud and clear. She starts another chapter of Glee.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

Carli is used to being one of the first ones up after a night partying since she drinks less than her teammates. She doesn't mind, sometimes she eats breakfast with Cheney but since Jrue and her family flew to London Carli is by herself.

She’s almost done with breakfast when Hope walks in, clearly nursing a hangover, and gets herself a cup of coffee before sitting down next to Carli. There are bags under her eyes but it’s the mark on her neck that interests Carli.

“You look like crap.”

“Thanks Car.”

“What happened after I left?” Carli asks. She’d be lying if she said that she didn’t find a hungover Hope Solo slightly amusing. She can only imagine what Pinoe must look like.

“Let's see, the Heathers tried to reenact by themselves the Party in the USA video. Although the highlight of the night was definitely Syd and Pinoe doing the _Dirty Dancing_ dance number. Around 1 I left the kids by themselves. Abby was in charge of babysitting, although she looked pretty busy with Sarah so who knows what happened.” Hope shrugs.

"You were alone last night?"

"Yes. I mean eventually Kelley came back to the room but no Carli, I didn't hook up with anyone last night." Hope huffs and rolls her eyes.

Carli hums noncommittally and waits until Hope is bringing the coffee cup to her mouth. "So you got that hickey this morning?"

Carli smiles to herself while Hope splutters.

"I wish I could say I'm surprised you slept with Kelley." Carli dares Hope to say it wasn't Kelley, that it was just some random hookup and not the freckled girl from Georgia. Or try to deny that they’ve been flirting since before the Olympics. “I just hope both of you know things can get tricky when you’re sleeping with a teammate.”

 

"I know what I'm doing."

Carli laughs uncontrollably . 

"Shut up asshole," Hope mumbles. "Look, we know what we are doing. Besides, we’re not even going to see each other again for a while. I’m heading home and Kelley is going back to California.”

Carli accepts the answer, what else can she do.

But she almost expects the phone call she receives a month later. How casually Hope mentions that she’s in California for a photo shoot and that it doesn't make sense for her to fly back to Seattle before joining camp for the start of the Victory Tour so she’s going to stay for the rest of the week in California.

Carli rolls her eyes, that idiot has no idea that she's in love. As her best friend she knows it's going to be up to her to help Hope figure out that it’s not friendship if you’re constantly staring lovingly at each other. But not now. She’s still got one week of vacation left.


	3. 2013

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not everything can be sunshine and rainbows

Ali has spent the last ten minutes staring at Hope. The goalkeeper was alone, nursing a drink with her back to the booth where the rest of the team was hanging out. Even before Abby and Carli went back to the hotel it was obvious Hope was avoiding Kelley.

Of course Ali knew why Hope was keeping her distance from Kelley. Everyone knew. There’s no such thing as a secret when you’re spending every moment with 22 women. And Kelley and Hope’s breakup (if it can be called that, since they were never official to begin with) was a big deal. The keeper was only interacting with the other vets and no one had the heart to tell Kelley that her attempts at acting normal were completely transparent.

Ali had a hunch about why Hope suddenly called things off with Kelley. Ashlyn has told her that she should just let things be. With how close Ash is to both women she understands why her girlfriend might feel conflicted about interfering but if Ali’s hunch is correct then she feels like she might be able to help.

Watching the brooding goalkeeper and the way she radiates sadness Ali ignores her common sense, that for once sounds a lot like Ashlyn, and she approaches Hope.

“Drinking alone at the bar is a little sad don’t you think?”

“I’m not alone if you’re sitting next to me Kriegs,” Hope fires back. Ali knows that wasn’t exactly an invitation but she ignores it and orders a glass of wine.

They remain in silence while the bartender gets Ali her drink.

“Come on Ali, just say what you came here to say,” Hope cuts right to the chase.

“I know you’re not stupid –”

“Gee, thanks.”

 “– that’s why I don’t understand why you pushed away a good thing.”

“It’s better this way.”

“For who? Because all I see are two people in pain,” Ali fights back. She’s not going to make this easy for Hope.

“This is really none of your business.” Hope glares at Ali.

“If it involves my friends I considered it my business.”

Hope clenches her jaw but she stays quiet.

Ali sighs; it’s time for a different tactic. “Do you know why I broke up with Ash?”

“No offense Kriegs – Ali interrupts her to reiterate the question. “Do you know why I broke up with Ashlyn?”

“Because of the distance,” Hope answers the question and finishes up her drink.

Ali shakes her head. “No, that what I told people. The truth is I was scared. I had never been in love with a woman and it seemed scary.”

Hope shifts in her barstool and Ali thinks she’s on to something so she keeps going. “But I realized that it wasn’t scary. That just because I had only been in relationships with men before didn’t mean I couldn’t share the same with a woman.”

“It’s not the same,” Hope says and suddenly she looks tired, like she’d been thinking a lot about this. “I literally wrote a book and said that I kissed a girl and didn't like it, what do you think would happen if people found out I was dating a woman, and not just any woman but a teammate?”

“The Hope Solo I know doesn't care about what people say,” Ali prods.

“I don't care about what people say about _me_ ,” Hope snarls. And oh, this makes sense. Trust Hope to break her own heart to protect someone she cares about. Loyal is one of the words Ali would use to describe Hope, right below stubborn.   

“Did you talk to Kell about this?”

“There was nothing to talk about.”

“She deserves to make her own decisions. And you both deserve to be happy and experience love.” Ali can see that this isn't really getting through Hope but that doesn’t deter her. “The NWSL season is about to start and you guys are going to be on different coasts. You should talk to her before she leaves.”

Hope at least nods and Ali retreats back to the booth. She doesn’t feel like she accomplished anything and hearing Hope’s reasoning just made the entire situation more heartbreaking. She looks at Ashlyn, goofing off with Pinoe, and hopes Kelley and Hope get a second chance.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

_3 missed calls from Hope Solo_

That’s what greets Christie when she checks her phone in Kansas City’s locker room. Before she can decide if she’s going to return the call first or if she’s going to jump in the shower the phone starts ringing. It’s Hope, again.

“Pearcy what did the trainers say?” Hope cuts right to the chase.

“It’s too early to know the extent of the injury Hope,” Christie answers. A part of her wonders if they should be having this conversation, after everything that happened. But she imagines Hope watching the moment Kelley went down and she knows that she’s not going to end the conversation.

“She couldn’t put weight on her foot!”

“Yes Hope I know, I was there.” She understands Hope’s agitation but she’s not going to put up with her attitude.

“If it had been a minor injury she wouldn’t have been crying.” Hope sounds scared and it’s not something Christie has heard in a long time.

“And that’s why it’s important to wait on the tests,” Christie replies in a soothing voice, her maternal instincts taking over.

“Would you let me know when you find out more?” Hope asks softly, like she knows she has no right to be asking to be updated on Kelley’s condition. But Christie has a soft spot for Hope, and for Kelley too, so she promises to keep her updated.

\--

Hope occasionally calls Christie. First she always asks about the girls. Sometimes she even talks with Rylie. But she always asks about Kelley.

Hope is not the only one who is worried. It’s been two months and Kelley is still not a 100 percent.

It comes to the point that Christie has to make the phone call that she knows Hope feared was coming.

“She’s going to get surgery in two weeks.” There’s complete silence on the other end of the line. “Hope? Did you hear what I just said?”

“Yes. Thanks for letting me know,” Hope eventually answers. But it’s clear that she situation hasn’t dawned on her just yet.

“Maybe you should come here. You know how this things work,” Christie suggests.

“So do you.”

“It’s not the same thing,” Christie reproaches Hope. They never talked about Hope’s relationship with Kelley but she was well aware and Hope knows she’s not an idiot.

“Right now she needs to focus on herself. I can’t be a distraction.”

“What she needs is a support system. You can be that for her.”

“She wouldn’t want me there,” Hope says and there’s a sadness attached to every word.

 _Are you sure about that?_ Christie wants to ask, but she’s not going to interfere. The decision has to be Hope’s.

“The surgery is scheduled for the 11th. In case you change your mind.” Just because she’s not going to interfere it doesn’t mean she can’t give a push in the right direction.

“Thank you Pearcie. For everything. I have to a meeting with my agent. Say hi to Chris and the girls for me.”

Christie hangs up and sighs. She feels tired all of a sudden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After all the O'Solo today I was feeling inspired. Two updates in one week! Go me!


	4. 2015

It’s the day the team has to leave Montreal for Vancouver and they still are not over the hype from the game against Germany. Alex specially is hyped because she finally feels like she’s 100% healthy and she’s impatient for their chance at redemption and a World Cup. That’s probably why she packed her bags right after breakfast, despite the fact that their flight doesn’t leave until the night.

“Al!” She hears as she’s stepping outside of her room. She turns in the direction of the voice and sees Hope jogging to catch up to her.

“Is Kell in your room?”

“Yeah she said she was going to start packing,” Alex smiles. Kelley’s dislike of packing is well known and she usually just throws everything inside her bags.

Hope nods. “I’ll help her. Make sure she folds her clothes.”

“I’m just going to Syd’s for a little while,” Alex warns Hope. So far she’s been lucky enough to never catch those two in a compromising position and she’d like to keep it that way.

“That’s fine,” Hope says distractedly, watching as Alex unlocks the room door.

Alex walks away thinking that she might have to knock on her own hotel room when she comes back.

\--

Alex doesn’t knock but she does take her time opening the door. But she realizes that her precautions were not necessary because inside Kelley is carelessly cramming all of her stuff into her bags while Hope naps on the bed, the small part that it’s not covered in clothes and cleats. One of Kelley’s Spotify’s playlists provides the background music.

Kelley greets her with a wave.

“Hope told me she was going to help you pack.”

Kelley chuckles and gazes at Hope. “She’s exhausted. She spent the entire morning having her knee checked out,” she confides in Alex.

“And?”

“She’s going to play against Japan.”

It can’t be that serious if they’re going to let her play, although Alex knows that most injuries would not be enough to stop Hope from playing the final.

Alex scrolls through her phone, not wanting to wake up Hope or distract Kelley from packing. Still she notices that after checking that she’s not leaving anything behind Kelley bends down to gently stroke Hope’s hair and she whispers something that Alex can’t hear but it wakes Hope up.

“Al we’re going to find something to eat do you want to come with us?” Kelley asks.

Alex shakes her head. “No, I’m going to meet with Serv and our families in ten minutes.”

Hope gets up and Alex sees her peer into Kelley’s suitcase. She grabs an UW sweatshirt all bunched up and after throwing Kelley an exasperated look she carefully folds it before putting it back.  "Done, let's go eat."

Kelley rolls her eyes "Is Carl coming with us?"

"Yeah, let's go see if she's ready."

“Bye Alex,” they say at almost the same time.

Alex is left wondering if she and Servando act as domestic as those two.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

"How does it feel to be a World Champion?" Erin almost has to yell to make sure she’s heard. The atmosphere is as crazy as anyone could have expected, considering today the national team has just made history.

Hope shakes her head good naturedly. "Ask me again tomorrow, I don't think I've fully grasped that we've won yet. It was just so surreal. Carli scored a hat trick! I was tearing up before the final whistle. And now I got this." Hope lifts her gold medal in disbelief.

"And another Golden Glove," Erin reminds her.

"And another Golden Glove," Hope repeats.

Just then Kelley literally crashes into their conversation.

“Hope I’ve been looking for you!” Kelley is already slurring her words and Erin smiles; her sister has always been a hilarious drunk.

“Well you found me.”

Kelley grins and not caring who sees she puts her hand underneath Hope's shirt, anchoring herself to Hope to stop swaying.

“Well at least this is less obvious than kissing on the podium,” Erin comments. As far as she knows they’re still trying to keep their relationship private but right now they’re not being very subtle.

“We’re world champions!” Kelley shouts and puts both her hands on Hope's head to make her bend her head so that she can replicate the kiss. Make is probably not the right word, because Hope goes willingly, like always. It’s never mattered that Hope is taller and stronger.

"Hope come dance with me?"

In response Hope takes Kelley by the hand to the dance floor.

"Bye sis!" Kelley almost falls when she turns back towards Erin but Hope steadies her.

As she sees them walking away Erin remembers the first time she ran into Hope while she was visiting Kelley after her surgery.

_She was just returning from the hospital cafeteria. She stopped herself as she opened the door. Hope Solo is not supposed to be here. Hope must’ve realized that she was in an awkward situation because she quickly stood up from the chair by Kelley's bed._

_"I was just leaving."_

_Erin nodded, not knowing what to say because if Kelley didn't mind having her ex here who was she to say something about it._

_"Bye KO. There's going to be a place in my backline for you when you recover."_

_The moment the door clicked Erin turned back to her sister._

_"What's Hope doing here?"_

_"She was in the city for a Nike event and wanted to come by."_

_Erin nodded but didn't buy it. "How do you feel about her being here?"_

_Kelley shrugged. "We're trying to go back to being teammates and she would've done the same thing for anyone else."_

_The sadness in her sister's voice made her want to track down Hope Solo and shake her, make her understand what she threw away. But then she thought about the timing of Hope's business trip and how she fixed Kelley's blanket before she left._

She knows they were in constant communication after that. And Hope even flew to New Jersey during Kelley's rehab. She won’t forget the damage Hope did to her sister but since then she has more than made up for everything.

Now she watches them dance together. Erin thinks about how much Kelley deserves everything she's got. Love and a World Cup.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

After all the celebrations are done Megan finds herself on a plane back to Seattle,  she is happy to be heading home and her flight companions share that sentiment because no one really breaks the silence. The three of them are in the same aisle. Hope always prefers the aisle seats; she says it's because of the leg room but everyone knows she doesn't like to look down when they're flying. Megan has the window seat, and Kelley is stuck between the two of them. It doesn't take long for Kelley to fall asleep with her head on Hope's shoulder and an arm thrown across Hope's waist, who pauses her reading to sneakily kiss the top of the head of the younger woman. Megan won't tease her about it; she can't imagine how hard it is going to be for them to have to go back to being on different coasts after spending the last two months never being more than a few rooms apart.

They're waiting for their suitcases. When the first one with the U.S. Soccer logo appears Hope is the first one to reach for it.

"Here Kelley this one is yours." Hope sets the bag next to Kelley.

The second one comes around and Hope reaches to check the tag. "Megan that's yours," Hope points out at the suitcase as it moves away from them.

"So you're only nice to the people you're sleeping with?" Megan grumbles as she chases after her bag.  Kelley just grabs on to Hope's arm to stifle her laughter.

"Pinhead is Sera coming for you or do you need a ride?" Kelley asks once they’re finally ready to leave the airport.

"Sera is already waiting outside but thanks for asking Kelley," Megan says while looking at Hope pointedly who smiles back at her. She's not going to admit it right now but she likes this version of Hope that is never afraid of being goofy.

"Ok Pinoe, I’ll see you later." Hope reaches over to give her a one armed hug.

Kelley gives her a brief hug before tugging Hope’s arm. "Come on, let’s go home."

Megan looks as they walk away. They’re not holding hands but their shoulders are brushing against each other. They look like any other couple on their way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2014 is coming up next! Ash and Kop make appearances.


	5. 2014

"Oh hi there Hope, I thought you wouldn't be joining us today." Ashlyn really can't contain her smirk at the sight of Hope slowly trudging up to meet with the rest of the girls who decided to go to exploring and find a place to watch the Premier League on their day off.

"I wanted to go outside for a while and watch some soccer." Hope shrugs casually.

"Really? Because last night you told me you were going to catch up on your reading, I wonder what could've made you change your mind," Ashlyn teases her and stares pointedly at Kelley, who is in front of them with the rest of the group.

Hope side eyes her but stays quiet.

"Did she at least ask you to come?"

"I asked what she was doing today," Hope admits. It's never not going to be funny, how the big bad goalkeeper bends over backwards for one overly freckled girl and Ashlyn's laughter inevitably draws the attention of a lot of the girls but only Ali stops walking to wait for them.

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Hope says quickly but Ashlyn is not done. "Kelley has Hope wrapped around her little finger."

"Oh that? We all know that." Ali’s sass is accompanied by the wrinkling of her nose and Ashlyn is mesmerized (but dammit this is about Hope, not how cute her girlfriend is)

"Screw you guys."

"What's going on with the two of you? Have you told her why you broke things off yet?" Ali turns serious.

 Ashlyn tilts her head. She has no idea what Ali is talking about but this is probably not the moment to ask.

"No, I didn't. She needs a friend right now, someone to help her get back."

"So you guys are just friends now?" Ali asks skeptically.

Hope nods.

"You've never been just friends before. You went from acquaintances to flirting nonstop to hooking up. In no moment were the two of you just friends." Ali doesn't seem convinced. Ashlyn wasn't around them in the beginning but she's inclined to believe her girlfriend. There's no way Hope and Kelley were truly just platonic friends.

"And look how that worked out."

"So this is your plan to get her back? Be her friend?"

"It worked out for me." Ashlyn jokes to take the pressure off Hope. Ali elbows her and Ashlyn groans dramatically, to Hope's amusement.

Just then Kelley stops walking and turns around with her hands on her hips.

"Are you three just going to hang back there by yourself?" Kelley tries to sound stern but it seems to Ashlyn like someone is missing their _friend_. "Come on Yolo! Ditch the boring couple and join the cool kids."

"Go on, your girl is looking for you." Ashlyn says, careful to keep to her tone low.

"She's not my girl," Hope grumbles under her breath but Ashlyn picks it up.

"Not with that attitude." Ashlyn helpfully shoves Hope forwards. Hope walks over to Kelley but behind her back she flips Ashlyn off.

Kelley grabs Hope by the arm to literally pull her into her conversation with Sydney. Hope goes along with it, clearly hanging onto her every word. Ashlyn chuckles at their idea of being platonic friends but then Kelley's words come back to her.

"We're not boring!" She protests but not even Ali pays attention to her. Whatever, she knows they’re cool.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

After the team dinner was over Heather went back to her room with Kelley, her roommate for this trip. It was nice getting to share a room with the defender, especially since this was only Kelley’s second camp since her surgery.

But at the moment Kelley was ignoring her in favor of her phone. The younger girl was texting someone and chuckling so much that it intrigued Heather.

“Who do you keep texting?”

Kelley jumps, like she had forgotten she wasn’t alone in the room. “Hope,” she answers guiltily.

“Why? You literally just saw her.”

“Syd is Skyping with Boss and Hope is telling me about it. It’s funny.” Kelley shrugs; trying to act like this is not a big deal.

“You two are getting pretty close again,” Heather comments, lately she’s been observing those two and if she didn’t know their history she could’ve thought they were together.

“She has really been there for me after the surgery, always available to talk when I was having a bad day and she even flew to New Jersey once to help out with my rehab.”

“That’s great Kell.” Heather tries to sound encouraging.

"I'm so confused," Kelley groans. “I don’t know if she wants us to get back together or if she’s just trying really hard to be my friend.”

"I don't look at my friends the way she looks at you I can tell you that much. Eventually you’re going to have to talk to her about this though," Heather tells her, although she figures Kell already knows. Kelley’s pitiful moan makes her smile a little.

"I hope you guys figure things out. I'm team O'Solo."

Kelley crinkles her nose. "O'Solo? Seriously?"

Heather shrugs her shoulders, "I think Pinoe came up with it."

Kelley chuckles but she still seems overwhelmed and Heather figures that the time for questioning is over.

"I don’t know if I’ve told you yet but I'm glad you’re back. Things weren’t the same around here without my Irish Soul Sister."

Kelley bounds over to give her a hug.

"Do you want to check if there's any reality shows on right now?"

"You bet."

They settle in for a night of nothing but trashy TV.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

There’s such a big difference between last season and this year. Two months into the NWSL season and Seattle has won more game than during the entire last season. Haley also feels much more secure about her place on the squad. Every post practice talk with Hope only helps her feel like an important part of the team.

Next weekend they’re going to play at home against Sky Blue and the two of them are assessing their opponents.

“Kelley’s comeback has been huge for them, not only on the defense but also contributing on their attack, taking advantage of the other team’s defensive gaps. That’s how she managed to score against Portland last week, it was a great shot that took the entire defense by surprise.”

Except Hope only seems interested in discussing one of their opponents.

"I get it Hope, everyone has to watch out for O'Hara, she's good but it's not like Harvey doesn't know that."

Hope tilts her head down before looking at Haley like she’s being studied on a PK shootout. It’s highly unsettling if she’s being honest.

“We’re dating.”

For a moment Haley wants to ask who is Hope dating before she fully understands what she meant.

"Ohhhh," Haley is still in shock but she starts nodding her head. "Ohhhh actually, this makes sense."

“Not a lot of people know yet. It’s sort of a new thing, well this time around.” Hope sounds unsure of herself, or maybe what she doesn’t know is how Haley is going to react. But honestly there’s just a lot of information that Haley hasn’t processed yet. Like how this isn’t the first time there’s been something between Hope and O’Hara, Kelley she amends in her head, and that for some reason Hope has decided to share this with her.

“So…” Haley doesn’t know where she’s going with this but she figures she’s been quiet too long and she doesn’t want to make this weird.

“Yeah,” Hope chuckles. “Surprise!” She says with a big smile on her face.

"Not that much actually," Haley stalls, not knowing if she should say it but Hope is smiling and she figures what the hell. "I might've read through some comments on Twitter and um, let’s say there’s been some speculation by the fans around the two of you.”

Hope chuckles "Yeah I figured it out."

"Oh I wasn't sure you knew." She’s known for a while, the downside of spending so much time on social networks, but it would have never occurred to her to tell Hope that people shipped her with one of her teammates.

"Relax Kop, it's not a big deal. A little weird but it’s ok."

"Wait, does Harvey know you're sleeping with the enemy?"

She’s not going to be the one to tell Laura, but she wouldn’t mind being in the room for that conversation.


	6. 2016 (pt. II)

The door of Tobin and Whitney was propped open, what with everyone just going from room to room catching up. But Tobin is tired and she's seeking refuge in Hogwarts.

"Toby I need your help with something," Kelley announces and closes the door dramatically.

"Don't call me Toby," she answers automatically, even if by now she knows it's a lost cause. "And I'm not helping you prank Dawn, I actually enjoy living."

"Like I would come to you for help on a prank," Kelley scoffs.  "No this is something else, since Hope is close to her 100th shutout I figured that I should get her a gift or something but I don't know what."

"How about you make sure you don't score an own goal against Japan?"

Kelley rolls her eyes "This is not the time for jokes Tobin."

It sounds bad but Tobin is enjoying Kelley's distress a little. She loves the girl really and Kelley has always gone above and beyond to be a good friend and a good teammate but before Hope she never really put that much effort into her relationships. It's sort of nice to see Kelley stressing about something like a present.

Still she drops her book to give Kelley her full attention. "I'm sorry, what have you thought of?"

"Ok so I've thought of having some gloves custom made. Talk to Nike to customize a few pair of gloves with 100 and Solo stitched on the wrists." Kelley paces in front of the beds as she talks.

"That sounds like a good idea."

"But it feels it’s kind of cliché to give a goalkeeper gloves you know. For her birthday I already bought her some really nice earrings that she liked once when we were walking through New York but if I give them to her now then I have to figure out what else to get Hope for her birthday." Kelley huffs before she flops down on Whitney's bed.

"She's going to like whatever you give her but personally I would go for the gloves. It seems appropriate." She means it too; Hope is the kind of person that cares more about the feelings behind the gift more than the actual gift, especially if it comes from Kelley.

Kelley jumps out of the bed.

"I'm gonna go see what's Alyssa's vote. Thanks for the help Toby."

"Don't call me Toby," she calls as Kelley skips off to look for Alyssa.

\--

Between Kelley, Kling and Ashlyn they managed to convince Jill to let them order pizzas and beer for a little party to celebrate Hope's new record. The karaoke however was definitely Kling's doing since Kelley, thankfully, was Alex's partner in their improvised beer pong tournament.

Tobin is gleefully recording Emily and Sam's duet. Neither girl is truly drunk but they didn't want to waste the opportunity to "serenade" their teammates from the top of the table of the conference room.

"Tobin come help me beat Ali and Ashlyn." Alex doesn't really wait for a response; she just drags Tobin by her hoodie.

"I thought Kelley was playing with you," Tobin complains.

"Yeah but I don't know where she went."

A quick look around confirms Tobin's theory: Hope is also missing so Kelley probably found an opportunity to give Hope the gift. Kelley had refused to tell Tobin on what she decided; claiming Tobin was a "blabbermouth".

Tobin quickly focuses on the game but she still catches the moment Hope and Kelley try to slip back in unnoticed. Tobin wryly notes their wrinkled clothes, looks like the gift wasn't the only thing Kelley gave Hope.

Tobin makes Allie play in her place and she goes up to Kelley.

"So what did you choose? The gloves or the earrings?"

"Both," Kelley says smugly.

"You went all out" Tobin says, a little impressed.

"Toby you want to know something?" Kelley clasps her shoulder and leans in closer. "One day I'm going to marry that woman." Kelley winks and walks away before Tobin can pick her jaw up from the floor.

\---

"So do you think she's already planning to propose or was she just thinking about the future?" Christen asks. Maybe telling someone about Kelley saying she wants to marry Hope wasn't the greatest idea but it felt like a secret too big for her to carry on her own. Tobin reassures herself thinking that it's not like Kell told her this was a secret. But maybe Kelley was right in not telling her what Hope's gift was.

"I don't know and she spent the rest of the night hanging all over Hope so it's not like I could've just asked her when the wedding is."

"Good morning guys, what are you talking about?" Julie sits in front of them.

Before Tobin can decide if they should share the information with Julie Christen makes the decision for her. "Kelley told Tobin that she wants to marry Hope," Christen blurts out.

"Oh my God! That's so awesome!" JJ basically yells and Tobin shushes her, she doesn’t need more people finding out about this.

"What's so awesome?" Tobin cringes when she hears Carli’s voice.

"Kelley told me last night that she wants to marry Hope," Tobin says resignedly.

"Kelley told you that?" Carli seems to be mulling over the information.

"Has Hope mentioned anything like that to you?" Julie asks eagerly.

"You could say that," Carli answers with a smile. "She bought a ring," she admits.

"Are you serious?" All three of them ask simultaneously with their eyes open wide in disbelief.

Carli nods. "She doesn't know when she's going to pop the question but it'll probably be after Rio to avoid the media.”

"Why? Rio could be the perfect place to ask Kelley to marry her" Christen pouts. Tobin has to hide a smile; Christen is probably planning not only the proposal but also the wedding in her head.

"Because the moment people see KO with that ring they're going to know it's an engagement ring." And with the way the rumor has been spreading lately Tobin figures a lot of people are going to speculate that's Hope's ring.

"You've seen the ring? What's it like?" JJ Interrupts Carli to ask, Christen too looks eager to find out.

"It's beautiful, very simple but elegant. Kell is going to love it."

Christen and Julie squeal in excitement.

"But the point is that there's going to be a lot of speculation, well more speculation," Carli amends, "and Hope has no intention of hiding her plans of marrying Kelley but she wants to tell people on her own terms."

 "So wait is she going to make a statement?” Tobin knows about Hope’s reticence to share information about her private life with journalists, tired of her words being twisted and used against her.

 "I don't know exactly. I don’t think she does either right now."

"What else do you know?" Christen is leaning so far off her chair Tobin thinks she’s going to end up on the floor.

"That we're going to win gold in Rio. And that none of you are going to tell anyone else about this conversation, especially Kelley." Carli looks at them seriously and they nod solemnly.

This is a secret Tobin plans to keep. Even if Alex and Allie are not going to be happy that she knew before them. Actually that's just an incentive to keep this quiet she thinks about how she’s going to gloat when they do find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soo.. I don't really like this chapter but I'm tired of rereading it


	7. 2016 (pt. III)

It took a while for Kelley to get used to Seattle, to being so far away from her family and not being able to surf. Even if according to Jerry she was already a coffee snob. But Hope's enthusiasm for her city proved to be contagious and during the off-season Seattle became her home.  It helps that Hope is more than willing to compromise. That's why this year they spent Thanksgivings in Georgia with the O'Hara's and for New Year they're going to Cali.  And maybe after the camp in January they'll make a visit to Kansas, to officially meet the new members of their teams before they have to get ready for a season apart. Their last season on opposite sides of the country.

For Christmas though they decided to stay in Seattle, just being together and laying low after Rio. They've won the right to just be lazy and they're taking full advantage of it.

Kelley is sprawled on the couch, with her feet on Hope's lap who is reading one of her books. Kelley swears she reads about 10 a month. Kelley has a book of her own but it was forgotten in the floor in favor of checking Instagram.  She sees a lot of people are wondering why she hasn't been taking pictures in Georgia and a lot of them are wondering if she's even there or if she's spending the holidays in the PNW. Scrolling down on the fans theories and comments about people being "trash" for them Kelley lets out a chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

Kelley stretches her arm to show the comments to Hope who rolls her eyes.

"Looks like we've been caught."

"They’re just guessing."

"What if you took a picture?"

Kelley scrunches her face in confusion. "But they're right; I'm not in Peachtree City."

"I know that, I mean why don't you take a picture here."

Kelley sits up and puts an arm around Hope's shoulder for balance, wanting to pay close attention to this conversation. They've talked before about being more open with their relationship but so far it was always theoretical.

"Are you sure? It’s not going to make them stop talking about us."

"I know but this way we won't have to feel like we're hiding anything. And if the press starts asking questions I'm not going to lie."

Kelley has always been cautious about social media when it came to her private life. But this is different because this is forever. Hope is her forever and their relationship is just too big.

"Are you going to tell them what I said to you after we won gold in Rio?"

After Rio the speculation on their relationship has grown even more, after too many interactions that were a little too charged to be platonic. It didn’t help that in the final a camera caught Kelley calling Hope babe. 

"No I don't think that's something the world needs to know, all they need to know is that I'm with you and you make me happier than I ever thought was possible."

Kelley kisses Hope, "that was cheesy but I'll allow it." She gives her another kiss before clearing her throat and grabbing her phone again. "I already have a bunch of pictures of us here so I don't think I need to take another...What about a picture of us kissing? That'll clear things right off."

"Wait you have a picture of us kissing? Why didn't I know that?"

“Because I know how to distract you,” Kelley answers with a satisfied smirk and she shows the picture to Hope. It wasn’t anything special, just one morning in bed Kelley came up with the idea but she forgot to show it to her girlfriend until now.

"Send that to me."

Kelley keeps going through her camera roll, Hope looking over her shoulder. Eventually she gets to a picture of Hope with Sasha and Onyx on the backyard, it was taken around sundown but everyone will know it’s of Hope and her house so it’ll work.

"There." Kelley puts her phone in the coffee table before she lies back down but keeps her hands behind Hope's neck to make the keeper follow her down.

"I love you." Hope says, looking adoringly at Kelley.

"Right back at you." Kelley leans up for a kiss. Hope kisses her back for a moment before she tries to sit down again.

"No, don't go away," Kelley pouts but it doesn't work.

"But I wasn't done with my book."

Kelley rolls her eyes but smiles. Her girlfriend is such a bookworm but she loves her for it.

**kelleyohara: my Christmas gift.**


	8. 2017 (the epilogue)

After Kelley joins the Reign she officially moves in with Hope. That meant figuring out how to get all of their stuff to fit together in Hope's house. They had spent the entire day organizing and throwing out stuff until Hope decided to go get groceries to make dinner for Kelley. The only room they hadn’t tackled was Hope’s office but she told Kelley to not bother, that she can do that one by herself another day. Kelley however decides it would be a nice gesture to clean the office for Hope.

There's a lot of junk, mostly papers that Kelley puts together in a box for Hope to check what she can throw away. On top of Hope’s desk are some souvenirs, small trinkets Hope has collected over the years and Kelley stops to look at them. There's a small red box, maybe Chinese, which catches Kelley’s eyes so she opens it, inside there's a jewelry box and Kelley almost drops it but with trembling fingers she opens it to find a platinum ring with three small diamonds.

"The one time I tell you not to clean something you couldn't help yourself." Kelley snaps her head to look at Hope in the doorway looking at her with a resigned smile.

"I didn't know what it was," Kelley says dumbly. She can't say or do anything else as Hope walks over to her and tries to take the ring from her hands but she doesn’t want to let it go.

"This isn't how I was going to do this but..." Now she does take the ring and drops down to one knee. That's what snaps Kelley from her daze. "Wait!" She yells before storming out of the office.

"Kelley what are you doing?" Hope asks uncertainly as she follows Kelley who is checking her boxes.

"Just wait – shit – where is it?" Kelley mumbles as she tears open a box and digs through it.

Hope doesn't know what to think but eventually Kelley turns around to face her, with a jewelry box in her hands.

"Ok, now," Kelley says before she kneels down. Hope laughs nervously before joining her on the floor.

They both open their mouth to talk at the same time and chuckle.

"How about I'll go first?" Kelley asks. Hope nods.

Kelley takes a deep breath. “I love you. God, I love you more than I ever thought I could love someone. And I just want to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you make me.” Kelley’s voice breaks at the end. With her free hand Hope dries the tears Kelley hadn’t noticed were making their way down her face.

“When I was a little girl I used to dream about marrying my true love and getting a happy ending but as I grew up I let that dream died. Then I met you and I started believing again.” Hope pauses. “Kelley O’Hara will you marry me?”

“Yes,” Kelley breathes before pouncing on Hope to give her a hug. Hope laughs through her tears but she holds on tight to Kelley.

Gently Hope slides the ring down Kelley’s finger. Kelley does the same before dropping a kiss on Hope’s knuckles.  

“Looks like you’re stuck with me now.”

“I think I’ll live.”


End file.
